Parkes celebrates role in Apollo 11 broadcast

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The Parkes Radio Observatory is planning celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, and the role it played in the worldwide broadcast of the first step on the moon.

Celebrations surrounding the July 21 anniversary include workshops, exhibits and a visit from a NASA astronaut.

Operation scientist at Parkes, John Sarkissian says the Parkes telescope was used to send out pictures for the two-and-a-half hour broadcast of the mission.

"When the moon and the Apollo 11 moved into the main beam of our telescope the signals were so strong and the pictures were of such high-quality that they immediately switched to us about eight minutes into the telecast and remained with us for the two-and-a-half hour broadcast from the moon," he said.

"So the vast majority of pictures that people saw of Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the moon came through the Parkes radio telescope."